After his talks with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy on Wednesday congratulated Croatian citizens and the government on a job well done which had enabled Croatia to enter the final round of its EU entry talks which will be completed "in the nearest possible future."
After gaining its independence two decades ago, Croatia is now at another historic turning point. It is on the right path to wrap up the negotiations with the bloc in the nearest possible future. The path is long and sometimes difficult and complex, but you are almost at the end. Therefore I wish to congratulate you on working hard to reach this point, I appreciate the intensity and dedication to work you showed in the past months, Van Rompuy said after the talks with Josipovic.
It is now up to the Commission to give its assessment, but I am "reasonably confident" that the executive Commission would recommend on Friday to the EU nations to wrap up talks and prepare to welcome Croatia as the 28th member state.
Josipovic expressed satisfaction with Van Rompuy's assessment,
Croatia started membership talks half a dozen years ago and would become the second nation of former Yugoslavia to join after Slovenia.
